CHECKING SELLERS’ EQUITY

Of course, when a realtor takes a listing it is imperative that the listing realtor does a title search. The listing realtor must know what financial claims are registered against the title, and ensure that there will be sufficient equity to pay those claims and commissions. If it is close, don’tforget about confirming that taxes have been paid AND don’t …

SHORT SALE

If you do a title search and find that your customer owes more money against the property than he will net from the sale, you can still take a listing in some circumstances only. You must then look to see what the debt is for in order to determine whether you can still list the property. 1. If it is …

ADJUSTING TAXES

Now is the time of year to be particularly aware of the tax adjustments on your real estate deals. As you know, unless a homeowner is enrolled on TIPP, in Calgary taxes must be paid in full for the year by June 30‘“. If they are not, the City immediately assess a 7% penalty. If they continue unpaid past September …

GREAT JOB BY A REALTOR

I see files on which Realtors have done a great job for their clients. From time to time I will pass these on to you. (I will change the names to protect the innocent!) “June” was recently asked to list a property. She contacted the mortgage company to confirm the balance due on her clients’ mortgage. The mortgage company gave …

PROPERTY DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS

The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently made a decision that comes down hard on realtors in several ways. One way was with respect to property disclosure statements. In that case the Buyer had paid $101,000.00 for a property. Shortly after moving in she discovered serious structural and plumbing problems. The repair costs were about $110,000.00 and this is what …

HOME INSPECTION CONDITION

In my last e-mail I wrote about an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that came down hard on a realtor with regard to a Property Disclosure Statement. In the same case, the realtor, who acted as a dual agent, was found to be liable to the Buyer for about $110,000.00, approximately thecost of repairs. The realtor had prepared an Offer …

WHEN IS A REALTOR LIABLE FOR A SELLER’S MISREPRESENTATIONS?

In my last two posts I wrote about the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that found a realtor liable for the way he dealt with a property disclosure statement and regarding a home inspection condition. More importantly, it is the way the Court of Appeal came to their decision that impacts you as realtors. The decision can have a much …

BUYERS’ AGENT COMMISSION

I had an interesting issue arise this month. The Realtor had a Buyers Agent Agreement and the property was being sold as a “For Sale by Owner”. In order to increase the price for mortgage purposes, there was an additional term of sale written in the Purchase Contract that stated as follows: “The seller agrees to pay the buyer 1.75% …

REALTOR LIABILITY FOR PROPERTY DISCLOSURE

I have been asked to e-mail some more info about the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that found a realtor liable for the way he dealt with a property disclosure statement and regarding a home inspection condition. Most importantly, it is the way the Court of Appeal came to their decision that impacts you as realtors. The decision can have …